Repositioning cruises?

[Chocolate Rose]

I would love to find out about repositioning cruises but seem to be striking out. 

I'm particularly interested in Australia/New Zealand to Seattle. Any suggestions?

TIA

[CruiserBruce]

Those are typically in the Spring...say April. Sometimes they go Australia to China/Japan and then across.

[Chocolate Rose]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

Those are typically in the Spring...say April.

Right! I'm trying to find out about them now so I can plan for possibly 2020. I was hoping for an idea of itinerary, cost, etc.

[CruiserBruce]

Noordam is going SYD-Vancouver April 9, 2020. On the HAL website.

[Chocolate Rose]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Noordam is going SYD-Vancouver April 9, 2020. On the HAL website.

Thanks! Why couldn't I find that?

Still hoping for Seattle, though. :-)

[CruiserBruce]

Not hard to find on the website.

 

Generally HAL will be moving 2 or 3 ships from Australia back, so there isn't unlimited ships to choose from. The other Alaska HAL ships will be coming from the Caribbean, or perhaps San Diego/Hawaii/Mexican Rivera. Volendam is usually the one that goes to Asia, then across. Maasdam is the third ship...it does more unique routes.

[Chocolate Rose]

I found it. Don't know why I couldn't earlier. Thanks for your help!

 

[wyobean]

We did the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Auckland. We booked it in 2 segments. Got to keep the same cabin. It ended up being cheaper for us that way due to one segment having a casino rate(I have no idea why). We always check the prices both ways as we have stock and can get the OBC for each segment. This was 3 years ago and I am sorry I don’t remember the total. It was a wonderful cruise...we came down the west coast to Astoria, San Diego and then went on to Hawaii, American Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australia and NZ. It was 39 days. 

[GCHAN]

We have been on another line in April Sydney to Honolulu via NZ and Tahiti(it then continued to Vancouver). Very good time of the year to be cruising as it seems there aren't any Cyclones or hurricanes at that time of the year.

 

There are also a number of cruises that go from Asia to Vancouver and they are very cheap but it can be cold from what i have heard. I have heard a lot of people have enjoyed this itinerary as well. I think Westerdam is doing this cruise in April 2019 and it is an excellent price.

[Essiesmom]

They don't go to Seattle because often one segment of the cruise will end in Honolulu and the last begins there, dictating the final destination to be Vancouver because of the Passenger Vessel Services Act.  Go to www.cruisetimetables.com and choose your departure port(s) and the month you want to cruise.  For this itinerary, it would be March/April.  It will tell you who is sailing from there, and their itineraries.  EM

Edited December 26, 2018 by Essiesmom

[Chocolate Rose]

16 hours ago, wyobean said:

We did the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Auckland. We booked it in 2 segments. Got to keep the same cabin. It ended up being cheaper for us that way due to one segment having a casino rate(I have no idea why). We always check the prices both ways as we have stock and can get the OBC for each segment. This was 3 years ago and I am sorry I don’t remember the total. It was a wonderful cruise...we came down the west coast to Astoria, San Diego and then went on to Hawaii, American Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australia and NZ. It was 39 days. 

Thank you! Sounds wonderful. I'll keep this in mind.

[Chocolate Rose]

15 hours ago, GCHAN said:

We have been on another line in April Sydney to Honolulu via NZ and Tahiti(it then continued to Vancouver). Very good time of the year to be cruising as it seems there aren't any Cyclones or hurricanes at that time of the year.

 

There are also a number of cruises that go from Asia to Vancouver and they are very cheap but it can be cold from what i have heard. I have heard a lot of people have enjoyed this itinerary as well. I think Westerdam is doing this cruise in April 2019 and it is an excellent price.

Thank you! Hadn't even thought about hurricanes, but glad we'd like to go in the spring. For this cruise, we'd like to start in Australia/New Zealand, but Asia is definitely on our radar. Cold is actually better for me - I hate heat. 

[Chocolate Rose]

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

They don't go to Seattle because often one segment of the cruise will end in Honolulu and the last begins there, dictating the final destination to be Vancouver because of the Passenger Vessel Services Act.  Go to www.cruisetimetables.com and choose your departure port(s) and the month you want to cruise.  For this itinerary, it would be March/April.  It will tell you who is sailing from there, and their itineraries.  EM

Thanks! I must have misread a post I had seen last year. Vancouver will still work, was just hoping for Seattle. Great link!

[knittinggirl]

We did a 38-day San Francisco to Auckland in 2017.  People boarded the ship in San Francisco (of course), Oahu, Sydney and Sydney AU.  On our roll call, we had passengers board from Seaward. Vancouver too.   The 38-day was all under one booking.

 

We were on the southbound itinerary, and we had some issues with some of their EXC tours.   In Picton, the bus had no air conditioning.  You'd think it wouldn't be a problem in early spring, but they have quite the greenhouse effect down there.  Port Chalmer's train ride was also quite warm since the windows wouldn't open.  We had a bus in Tauranga that earned the award for the worst bus 30+ cruises.  It was designed for short shuttle rides, but they put it into service.  I almost quit the tour at the first stop, and probably would have if I thought I could afford the taxi back to the ship. 

 

The bus (see photo below)  in Tauranga had no seat belts, low seat backs.  The several people fell on the steps in the back of the bus.  They had a slope leading to the first step.  A guy in the front seat complained he had to twist his feet, because they wouldn't fit straight in the floorboard.  This was a tour where we went to a Mauri home (where there were no bathrooms for us to use), beautiful view of the ocean from the back yard though.  At the Mauri ceremony, we were told no to use the bathroom and go right into the temple (removing shoes first).  

 

Napier had the best bus of the trip.  It had a camera in front, and we  could see a video of the front of the road from inside the bus.

 

Overall, it was the trip of a lifetime!  I wish HAL had a round trip cruise to Australia/NZ.

Edited December 26, 2018 by knittinggirl

[Chocolate Rose]

16 minutes ago, knittinggirl said:

We did a 38-day San Francisco to Auckland in 2017.  People boarded the ship in San Francisco (of course), Oahu, Sydney and Sydney AU.  On our roll call, we had passengers board from Seaward. Vancouver too.   The 38-day was all under one booking.

 

We were on the southbound itinerary, and we had some issues with some of their EXC tours.   In Picton, the bus had no air conditioning.  You'd think it wouldn't be a problem in early spring, but they have quite the greenhouse effect down there.  Port Chalmer's train ride was also quite warm since the windows wouldn't open.  We had a bus in Tauranga that earned the award for the worst bus 30+ cruises.  It was designed for short shuttle rides, but they put it into service.  I almost quit the tour at the first stop, and probably would have if I thought I could afford the taxi back to the ship. 

 

The bus (see photo below)  in Tauranga had no seat belts, low seat backs.  The several people fell on the steps in the back of the bus.  They had a slope leading to the first step.  A guy in the front seat complained he had to twist his feet, because they wouldn't fit straight in the floorboard.  This was a tour where we went to a Mauri home (where there were no bathrooms for us to use), beautiful view of the ocean from the back yard though.  At the Mauri ceremony, we were told no to use the bathroom and go right into the temple (removing shoes first).  

 

Napier had the best bus of the trip.  It had a camera in front, and we  could see a video of the front of the road from inside the bus.

 

Overall, it was the trip of a lifetime!  I wish HAL had a round trip cruise to Australia/NZ.

Wow! Quite the trip!

[knittinggirl]

4 minutes ago, Chocolate Rose said:

Wow! Quite the trip!

Tea and scones were wonderful.  Also, Wellington had excellent coffee.  Our guide told us that Wellington is the place to get coffee and brew. 

 

In Wellington, buses have the right of way.  And they proved it on our tour.  The bus turned down a narrow street, and the cars had to get out of our way, by backing up, driving over curbs, etc.

 

New Zealand is the place to get Possum/Merino yarn or garments.

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by knittinggirl

[GCHAN]

8 hours ago, Chocolate Rose said:

Thank you! Hadn't even thought about hurricanes, but glad we'd like to go in the spring. For this cruise, we'd like to start in Australia/New Zealand, but Asia is definitely on our radar. Cold is actually better for me - I hate heat. 

I don't think you are going to have any trouble with heat in April. It is the best time of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

The Northern cruises are from Tokyo but the cruise lines would have cruises around Asia prior to that. The cold part is going North of Tokyo.

 

If you are getting a Balcony on the Northern cruise make sure you get the sunny side as apparently it makes all the difference. 

[lyannea]

https://www.cruisetransatlantic.com/cruises.html

 

i have found this thread helpful. You can click on Holland America on any of their transatlantics and get a list of all the repositioning cruises

[SeaDog-46]

Great low priced repositioning - Westerdam - Yokohama to Vancouver 15 days from 28th April 2019.

[Chocolate Rose]

On 12/26/2018 at 5:35 PM, GCHAN said:

I don't think you are going to have any trouble with heat in April. It is the best time of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

The Northern cruises are from Tokyo but the cruise lines would have cruises around Asia prior to that. The cold part is going North of Tokyo.

 

If you are getting a Balcony on the Northern cruise make sure you get the sunny side as apparently it makes all the difference. 

Thank you! Good info!

[Chocolate Rose]

23 hours ago, lyannea said:

https://www.cruisetransatlantic.com/cruises.html

 

i have found this thread helpful. You can click on Holland America on any of their transatlantics and get a list of all the repositioning cruises

Awesome! Thanks!

[Himself]

On ‎12‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 2:51 PM, Chocolate Rose said:

Thanks! Why couldn't I find that?

Still hoping for Seattle, though. 🙂

Both the Westerdam and the Noordam are cruising between Vancouver to Seward and back. The Eurodam, Oosterdam and Amsterdam are sailing out of Seattle next Summer.

[Cruise Junky]

On ‎12‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 12:45 PM, Chocolate Rose said:

I would love to find out about repositioning cruises but seem to be striking out. 

I'm particularly interested in Australia/New Zealand to Seattle. Any suggestions?

TIA

Oosterdam just released her itinerary for April 2021. It's very nice.

[utahtea]

On 12/25/2018 at 12:45 PM, Chocolate Rose said:

I would love to find out about repositioning cruises but seem to be striking out. 

I'm particularly interested in Australia/New Zealand to Seattle. Any suggestions?

TIA

 

Besides April also look for late September departures from Vancouver.  In 2016 we did the repositioning on the Noordam but we boarded in San Diego for 39 days. We had a lot of our roll call start in Vancouver.  It was a fantastic cruise!  We were worried about all those sea days but we LOVED them and was never bored.  They had a lot of guest speakers and great shows.  

 

Utahtea

Edited April 3, 2019 by utahtea

[mrmoviezombie]

I've found the easiest way to find the interesting repositioning cruises is to filter for a specific ship, and then follow them forward or backwards in time.

You will see them do multiple laps in some part of the world, then you see the repositioning cruise to somewhere else, and then the set of laps it does in that new place. And so on.

 

Following the ship gives you a different perspective.